Ongoing thoughts circulated through fans’ minds as they anxiously awaited for the movie screen to read, “It Ends With Us.” It Ends With Us, a novel written by Colleen Hoover, made its way onto the big screen on Aug. 9th, and fans not only grabbed their popcorn but watched the pages be transformed into something remarkable.
This long awaited film, directed by Justin Baldoni, opened with Lily Bloom driving through leaves, embracing her home town of Maine where she went for her father’s funeral. After a short clip of Bloom at her father’s funeral, the film shifts to the city where Bloom resides in—Boston. Boston became a special place in Bloom’s life; it was where she had a lifelong dream of opening up her very own business: a flower shop. But, if readers remembered, the moment the screen turned to Boston, fans knew exactly what highly anticipated scene was about to come next. In the iconic opening rooftop scene, viewers were met with a new person of interest: Ryle Kincaid.
In the film, after Bloom and Kincaid officially announced their relationship, small arguments would arise between them that would change the trajectory of the film, and how others felt about it. Kincaid continuously harmed Bloom in the movie, injured her, and forcefully made her do things. On the other hand, Atlas Corrigan, Bloom’s childhood crush, was one of those characters who many fans adored (including myself). He had an open heart and always held a soft spot for Bloom which made their moments even more special. Even though the film mainly focused on the relationship Bloom had with Kincaid, they made sure to include flashbacks of Bloom and Corrigan’s young love and connection.
Hoover, who is the author of the novel, also took a part in the production. However, audiences saw a stark contrast between the movie and book. For example, the movie left out a lot of crucial parts in the novel like the Boston magnet scene and the “Just Keep Swimming” reference. This movie, however, made sure to include the hospital scene between Bloom and Kincaid where she asked for a divorce, along with the scene between Corrigan and her when he asks Bloom if he can have “his girl” back.
As a fan of the book, and now the movie, watching everything come to life was fulfilling. Seeing talented actors like Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and Brandon Sklenaran on the big screen worked well with this storyline since they all had great chemistry and added emotion to their lines. Although they were great, I, and many others online, expected the characters to be younger. If they were younger, people would have liked the movie more.
Some can agree that the wardrobe pieces suited the characters well, but personally, I feel that the choices could have been more realistic and casual. I imagined a lot of sweaters, blouses, jeans, dress pants, etc. As for the scenery, it captured the whole idea of the story and matched really well to each scene. Looking back at the film as a whole, many parts were very intriguing to me like the music choices. They added more depth and the addition of well-known artists like Taylor Swift was a nice touch.
Considering that most of the fans left the theater in tears, It Ends With Us has received all the credit it deserves. With the movie earning over $100 million dollars in 11 days, fans just might get to see more of Bloom, Kincaid, and Corrigan soon for the prequel It Starts With Us.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
